Couple of years back, had the good fortune to attend one of the live airings for The Wildhearts' debut, “Earth Vs.” , still one of my favorite discs from the 90s. So the premise of the 20th anniversary for sophomore effort “P.H.U.Q” (phonetic "spelling" of the oft utilized curse), recorded at a September '15 concert, should be a winner, right? However, the band underwent some dramatic changes between those albums (thanks in part to major label politics). Where the debut had a healthy dose of aggressive music and punky, tongue-in-cheek humor, the follow-up (actually there was the “Fishing For Luckies” Ep, in between) was more restrained, both musically and lyrically. A disappointing “P.H.U.Q.”, if you like.

This latest CD is the first opportunity to hear live renditions of most of these tracks, the album played through sequentially (apart from the 26 second ‘Up Your Arse You Fucking Cunt’ singalong, which frontman/guitarist contributes to too much cocaine in the studio, which might also explain the lackluster album tracks). Kicking off with (one of?) their best known hit ‘I Want To Go Where The People Go’, complete with vociferous crowd, its simple construct and catchy chorus are the hallmarks of Ginger/ The Wildhearts, a beer swilling gutter Beatles, if you will. One of the cheeky frontman's few addresses is prior to 'Just In Lust’, which introduces an exaggerated period of malaise. A falling down drunk drum fill greets the thrashy ‘Whoa Shit, You Got Through’, six songs later! The gradually building 106 seconds of ‘Cold Patootie Tango’ is merely an intermezzo, segueing into ‘Caprice’. An acoustic begun ‘Be My Drug’ eventually gets up to mid-tempo, but never breaks the speed limit. Experimental ‘Naivety Play’ seems inspired by the atonality of the heavy alternative/grunge era. The concluding ‘Getting It’ shows signs of life, but too little, too late.

P.H.U.Q it, not my idea of a fun night out!